Transparency
by heatqueen
Summary: Sequel to 'Dependency' - Elphie's POV on Galinda's obsession with her. Turns out, the situation is more serious than she thought. Unrequited Gelphie.


**Transparency**

 _~ A 'Wicked' Fanfiction ~_

 _~ By Heatqueen ~_

 _~ Sequel to 'Dependency' ~_

 **A/N: Thank you to my friend and beta, cuppasound, for helping me with this fic. :) It is thanks to her that this story went through several different versions and eventually ended up more thoughtful than humorous, as originally intended. Hope you all enjoy!**

At first, Elphie didn't think anything of the change in Galinda's behaviour. The socialite was flighty and whimsical at the best of times.

She took no notice of the dazzled eyes and beaming smile that caught her gaze whenever she walked into a room, because Galinda was outwardly demonstrative towards all of her friends. She paid little mind to the gradually more frequent use of terms of endearment and praise that seemed to be lavished upon her, because didn't Galinda do that to everyone? The girl was good; it was no surprise that she would be good towards Elphie too.

Elphie thought nothing of it, until the day Galinda started to become an issue. Unused to having friendships, she found herself torn between gratitude that a friend should care for her so much, and feeling as though she needed some distance. Sometimes, it seemed her roommate was too close for comfort.

Friends, after all, didn't go quite so far out of their way for each other. There was no way Galinda didn't plan to show up in Elphie's every single spare second of free time. Whenever there was a moment, Galinda was there. She appeared so often that Elphie found it strange not to see her.

For a couple of weeks, a quiet moment was not to be found. Not even in the library did she find refuge when Galinda decided suddenly that she was going through an overly studious phase. It lasted a few days before Galinda realised it was more boring to be in the library with Elphie, than in the bedroom without.

One night, Elphie was back late, and opened the door to find Galinda fuming. When she asked why, Galinda responded, 'You took forever.' And that was that – no further explanation, just a sad pout. Elphie was briefly irritated, but couldn't help her heart softening. She took Galinda into her arms, choosing to ignore the ridiculousness of the claim. Later on, she wondered if friends were supposed to miss each other that much.

From that day, the game changed. For no seemingly apparent reason, Galinda suddenly went quiet. The displays of affection disappeared, replaced with curt, carefully constructed responses. At first Elphie feared that Galinda no longer cared for her friendship. The new development caused a rift, with the two girls tiptoeing around each other. The light-hearted banter of the past was gone. There was no more teasing, only careful words, as Elphie feared that anything she said might drive Galinda away. She spent the nights feeling tense and frustrated, feeling that something had gone wrong, only she had no idea what.

Despite this, Galinda continued to hover. They left for their classes on a daily basis, side by side in complete silence. They sat next to each other and Elphie took notes while Galinda doodled in bright pink ink. No words were exchanged, but many times, Elphie could feel Galinda staring at her through her cerulean eyes.

It was one rainy day, during class, when Elphie felt Galinda's stare on her back yet again, that everything clicked into place. And the realisation surprised Elphie. There was no need for caution after all. Galinda's behaviour was not that of someone who wanted to end a friendship, but someone trying to conceal an obsession. _No wonder,_ she thought. Distancing oneself was the perfect antithesis of obsession. Elphie's lips curled into an impish grin. What fun this would be.

She started to watch Galinda for the signs. As she watched, it became a personal challenge to see if she could elicit a specific reaction from the girl. She discovered that tardiness drew a deflated pout; ignoring Galinda brought a puppy-eyed stare; and any amount of teasing would ensure pink cheeks and childish retorts. All of which were frightfully amusing.

She began to notice how Galinda would contradict herself, by simultaneously doing anything to get Elphie attention, and attempting to conceal herself. The result was rather comical. She stuttered over some insignificant topic in the hope of starting up a conversation, only for Elphie to shoot her down with a sarcastic deadpan and continue about her business. Elphie's nonchalance was destined to send Galinda into a huff, which she then tried and failed to downplay with a poorly-worded claim that she didn't care anyway.

'If you didn't care,' said Elphie, 'then why did you bring it up in the first place?'

And a frustrated howl erupted from the back of Galinda's throat, and Elphie cackled.

One Friday night, a few weeks later, Elphie decided that it was time to raise the subject of Galinda's affections. Galinda, as usual, was being her love-struck self, her eyes travelling to wherever Elphie went, wide with fascination. The hour was late, and Galinda really should have been in bed, but late nights had become a more frequent occurrence for the blonde in recent weeks.

Elphie's game had gone on long enough. The constant beating around the bush had rendered them so tense that Elphie feared that her poor, desperate roommate might faint from a heart attack if there was not some kind of release. She had no wish for Galinda to delve further into a potentially misleading fantasy, as she knew she only 'might' be able to return those feelings. Better that the situation was cleared up and a line was drawn.

Smirking, she turned and grinned at Galinda, making sure to display the sharp fangs that were supposed to be teeth. This wasn't the first time Elphie had witnessed such a display of idolisation. In fact, the way Galinda mooned over her was scarily reminiscent of –

'Boq,' Elphie declared triumphantly.

Galinda froze. 'I beg your pardon?'

Elphie squinted at her thoughtfully. 'Oh this is marvellous. A true example of getting a taste of one's own medicine. You see, my dear Galinda, you have transfigured into a being that perfectly resembles the poor lover-boy you so despised.'

'I have _not!'_ Galinda retorted indignantly through red cheeks.

'Let's see,' Elphaba mused. 'Blushing, stuttering, doing everything you can to please, clinginess, overt displays of affection…'

'Sweet Oz,' Galinda muttered frantically. 'It's not true. It cannot be true.'

At her display of panic, Elphie cackled.

'Now, my pretty, it really is not the end of the world; though perhaps from now on you'll be a bit kinder to the poor munchkin?'

'Elphie! It's _terrible!'_

The poor girl really was worked up. Perhaps that was enough teasing for now; she had no wish for Galinda to explode. The sight of her cheeks so thoroughly matching the shade of her pink dress was rare considering the poker face she wore in public. Elphie must have touched a nerve, or several.

'So,' Elphie said once Galinda had calmed down enough to stop pacing, and her cheeks had faded, 'How long have you been into me?'

Too soon – Galinda was bright pink again.

'I – I'm not – oh sod it, what difference does it make? I'm a wreck anyway! I really didn't intend for things to get this far. You must think me terrible, behaving like this.'

'Not terrible, my pretty, although your attempt at hiding your affections from me is rather comical.'

Galinda pouted. 'This is all just a joke to you, isn't it?' she said quietly.

The words made Elphie wince. Yes, it was pretty funny; but Elphie had not anticipated that this might be serious for her romantic-hearted friend. Typically, Galinda got swept up in whirlwind attractions that were intense for several days, and then faded rather quickly, but evidently this particular crush was different.

'Your feelings are never a joke to me,' she responded.

'Whatever. Don't talk to me about it.'

With that, Galinda slinked off into the bathroom and locked herself in. Elphie stared at the closed door. It appeared that Galinda intended to make this more difficult than was entirely necessary. If only she would speak honestly about how she felt, a rift might be avoided, but with such a defensive disposition, Elphie was going to be challenged to get her roommate to open up.

Sighing, she pondered the implications. The reality of the situation was much heavier than imagined. In her head it had been as simple as casual banter leading to Galinda confessing her feelings and the two of them laughing about it. Elphie hadn't worried about the possible effects on their friendship, because she hadn't believed there would be any.

Quite some time passed with Galinda locked behind the bathroom door, unwilling to return to the outside world in which there would be no choice but for the discussion to resume. Elphie distractedly got on with some work, turning and looking at the bathroom door every so often. Many times in the past, she had been the one who withdrew whenever Galinda's overbearing nature became too much. It was a mark of how serious this was that Galinda was the one shying away this time.

The humour of the situation had long disappeared, and Elphie could only hope that her decision to reveal that she knew about Galinda's crush was the right one.

With a full hour gone, Elphie decided to take action. She'd given her roommate a chance to react to the situation, but now Galinda was outright avoiding it. Knocking gently on the door, she said, 'Galinda? Are you okay?'

'Yeah. Fine.'

'You've been in there a while.'

'One minute.'

It took several moments, but finally the door clicked open. Galinda came out and pushed past Elphie, making a direct beeline for her bed. She climbed into bed and turned and faced the wall without saying a word.

'There is no need to avoid me, my sweet. I will not hurt you.'

Galinda shuffled under the bed covers, before turning over. She caught Elphie's gaze with red-rimmed eyes and a swollen pout. When she spoke, it was in a bare whisper.

'You don't know what it's like.'

'What?'

'Being unable to control your thoughts. One minute, you're perfectly fine, and the next minute, something seizes you. And once it's gripped you, that's it; it's all you can think about. It doesn't have to be a person. It could be anything. But the fact is, it's all consuming and drives away all other thoughts. The worst part is knowing that no one else understands; they think I'm crazy if I talk about it, so I have no choice but to keep it to myself, even though I want nothing more than to shout it from the rooftops.

'I didn't want to tell you how I felt because you shouldn't have to deal with that part of me. I don't even know how real those feelings are. I can barely distinguish them from real love. There's a part of me that's dying to tell you that I love you, but I fear that it's all in my head.

'I'm sorry, Elphie. I'm sorry that you have to deal with me being like that.'

She dissolved into tears, and Elphie suddenly regretted her actions. How ignorant she had been to assume that this was a matter of humour when her roommate was clearly suffering. Now what in Oz was she to do? She was hardly the comforting type. She had some experience with her sister, though Nessarose tended more towards dramatic tears. This overwhelm of emotion from Galinda was an entirely different scenario.

'Don't apologise,' she muttered, hoping that was the right thing to say.

'But I have to. It's not supposed to be like this. I was never supposed to love you this much. I wish I didn't because it would make both of our lives easier.'

'And since when am I known for taking the easy way out?' Elphie responded. She was satisfied to see a small smile peeking out of the corner of Galinda's lips.

'Never, I suppose,' Galinda conceded. 'But even so…'

'That's enough now, my pretty – you are at risk of talking in circles, and then we will both be dizzy.'

Galinda chuckled.

'This whole thing is dizzyfying.'

'In which case you wouldn't want to make it any worse. You need to stop worrying so much. It isn't wrong to feel strongly about something. You've seen how I get in History lectures.'

'Yes, you can be pretty intense. That's one of the things I like about you.'

'Funny, that's one of the things most people hate about me.'

'But I am not most people,' Galinda gloated.

'No, Galinda, you are not,' Elphie agreed. 'I used to think you were, back in the early days, but you have proven each day how different you are from the others.

'Now,' she continued, 'you should try and get some sleep. I think you have something important to do in the morning.'

Galinda looked at her guiltily. 'I'll go and apologise to Boq tomorrow.'


End file.
